Reese’s Minis Surprising Launch at Consumer Electronics Show

In one of the most unexpected launches at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the Reese’s brand, makers of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, yesterday unveiled the latest mini-innovation in candy snacks – Reese’s Minis. Billed as the “Next Big, Little Thing,” Reese’s Minis are the smallest Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups ever, and the first snacking candy to be introduced at CES.

Reese’s Minis, from The Hershey Company, are approximately the size of a dime and feature the same combination of chocolate and peanut butter of the traditional Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in a smaller, unwrapped version.

Launching a confectionery at an electronics shows seems like a bizarre marketing strategy, however in today’s saturated market, it may have caught consumers’ attention as being just quirky and different enough to work.

Anna Lingeris, spokesperson for the Reese’s brand is keen to justify the strategy, saying “Techies at CES seek out cool innovations like mini-tuners, mini-cams, nano-mice, mini-keyboards, and gotta-have gadgets so small you could fit a fistful in your pocket.

“So who says that the next, big mini innovation can’t come from a candy company? Reese’s Minis reflect the best in creative product innovation and ‘on-the-go’ interfacing with user taste buds. And they solve an important issue for techies, too – their size and unwrapped state makes them ergonomically perfect for one-handed internet surfing or tapping out a text message.”

The Reese’s brand, taking a page from some of the top Silicon Valley product launches, took the show by storm in the Grand Lobby with a giant orange Reese’s box and a count down to the big unveiling the first day of the show. Well-known tech personality and self described “geek, internet entrepreneur and technology enthusiast” Chris Pirillo of Lockergnome, and Jim St. John, Vice President of Research & Development at The Hershey Company, opened the giant 10′ x 20′ box to reveal the new Reese’s Mini, appearing in the spotlight on a glass pedestal.

To build buzz prior to CES the Reese’s brand also worked with a handful of tech influencers, to create teaser videos to drive visibility for the launch. The videos, which spoof the “unboxing” trend in the tech world, didn’t reveal the new product but feature influencers opening up the giant orange Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup boxes and teasing the product launch.